


Better To Be Strong

by MisMot



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 3
Genre: Androids, F/M, Fallout Kink Meme, Gen, Masturbation, Prostitution
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-28
Updated: 2016-04-04
Packaged: 2018-04-28 14:32:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5094254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MisMot/pseuds/MisMot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Lone Wander with more to love sets out to find her father. Along the way, she discovers just how strong she is and runs into a security officer who has more than an innocent interest in her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

With a grunt she gave up, her quickly cramping hands releasing the unyielding leather of thick looking armor as she stared at herself in the mirror. Alice was just going to have to accept that most of the decent armors she could actually afford just wouldn't fit over her generous bust, even with the tight bindings she wore or no matter how she tried to push all the air from her lungs in an attempt to just take up less space. 

"Sorry, kid," Flak spoke up with a slight chuckle and a shake of his head. "Don't think that one's gonna fit you, either. You wanna give something else a try?"

"Probably won't do any good," Alice muttered, looking herself over in the mirror with a critical eye. "Don't have the muscle to haul around power armor yet and all this fat just doesn't seem to want to go away. It's not fair!" She could feel the tears of frustration start to burn at her eyes and in that second, Alice hated herself for feeling like a child again. She was an adult and had no reason to cry over her extra pounds. Not when she'd encountered more malnourished people in the past month than she ever thought possible. 

But she could still hear the teasing comments she always got while growing up, all the voiced concerns her father had about her health, the snide remarks she’d heard from other adults in the Vault... An awkward cough brought her out of her memories with a start and Alice sheepishly glanced over at where Flak reclined on the tattered couch near her.

"You could always try to see how men's armor fits. That's usually made to fit a larger frame. And it'll keep you safer than that damn vault suit of yours."

"Besides," Shrapnel piped in, jerking his chin toward something behind her. "Take a look in the mirror and tell me who's been watching you like a hawk since you came in. Every time you've come in to try stuff on. No, up on the balcony and don't turn around."

Just like Shrapnel said, there was someone standing up on the walkway, leaning against the railing and staring right at them. No, right at her, Alice confirmed when she squinted a bit. Even with her broken glasses, Alice could see that Harkness was focused on her and her alone. Despite the people milling about behind him, nothing else but her seemed the register to him with the way the much older officer stared at her. She immediately felt a full flush come over her, her cheeks, neck, ears, and what she could see of her chest burning a blotchy red that made her want to hide under a blanket and avoid eye contact with Harkness for the rest of her life. There was no way he could miss it, even with how far away he was, it was that bad.

"Quit teasing," Alice snapped, shooting a glare at her friends. "He's just paranoid I'm going to sink what's left of Rivet City or something. It's his job to not trust newcomers. Or maybe he’s checking out a complaint from Bannon about you guys selling me armor and disrupting his monopoly on it."

"Aside from the fact that he has deputies to shadow anyone he's uncertain of and a dozen other things, sure, whatever you say, kiddo," Flak laughed heartily, shaking his head at her as if she was a child who asked him if brahmin were ever born with just one head instead of two. “Plus, we wouldn’t have stepped in if Bannon had kept his comments to himself.”

Alice grunted, gently setting the leather jacket she'd been trying on aside as she jerked the top half of her vault suit back on and over the sweat stained tank top she’d been wearing since leaving the Vault, self conscious of everyone's eyes on her. She'd really been looking forward to not having to wear men's clothes for what felt like the first time in her life and although they'd gotten pretty close with this last one, Flak and Shrapnel just didn't seem to be able to find anything that fit her and Bannon hadn’t even wanted to make an effort to find something. Sure, Alice could suck her stomach in just fine, even if it was uncomfortable, it was just her burst that seemed to defeat any potential armor she found. Alice would just have to try her best to lose weight, avoiding pre-war foods and everything like that. Maybe Doctor Li would have some advice for her, since nothing she’d done on her own since leaving the safety of the Vault seemed to be having any effect on her weight. With a determined nod and a hurried excuse, Alice set off to find Doctor Li in hopes that the older woman wasn’t too busy to see her at the moment.

Taking a moment to consider just where in the ship she had to go and how to get there, Alice paused to get her bearings, mentally chastising herself for never seeming to remember how to get from one place to another, no matter how many times she visited the semi-floating city. “Hey,” a sudden voice behind her startled her, causing the young woman to turn around with a start and for her hand to reflexively fly to wear her assault rifle was usually resting against her back. Seeing her movements, Harkness raised a careful eyebrow but didn’t seem to bothered by it. If anything, he looked bemused at having startled her. “I just wanted to thank you for getting Bryan Wilks safely to his aunt.”

“Oh, er, that’s no problem, really,” Alice tried to force a laugh and to calm her still wildly beating heart. She couldn’t believe she’d missed the loud, jarring sound of the door opening behind her. Unless he’d managed to race down from the walkway and into the cramped hallway with her before the door had a chance to close in the first place. “I don’t really like seeing kids get hurt, so it was either leave him here with Vera or some place called Little Lamplight,” she explained, pushing up the cracked frames of her glasses out of sheer nervous habit.

“I think I’ve heard of that place before,” he told her, shifting his weight but making no real move to leave the strained conversation as he spoke. “I don’t really know where it is, though. Have you been there?”

Alice found herself nodding, making quick glances around the hall, paranoid that they were stopping someone from being able to get from one place to another, but they were the only two in the hall. “It’s pretty far west from here.”

“I see,” he murmured, watching her face carefully. “I don’t really get much of a chance to travel and there’s not really a good way to, what with there not really being any order to the wasteland and all that. Am I keeping you from something? We could have this conversation later, if you’d like. My shift’s over at five today.”

Before Alice even realized it, she was sitting in the Muddy Rudder with the chief of security, sharing a drink and telling him about the various things she had come across in her journey so far. "There's this one lady who asked me to gather all the Nuka-Cola Quantums I can find for her, meanwhile, her neighbor is asking me the same thing so he can bribe her into having sex with him," Alice giggled, taking another sip of the whiskey she still hadn't grown accustomed to.

"And they're the only two in town?" Harkness asked, taking another gulp of his own whiskey and refilling the chipped tumbler in front of him. When he motioned with the bottle towards her own glass, Alice nodded and grinned at the warm feeling her face had had for the past half hour. For once, she wasn't embarrassed by how red she could get and only focused on the firm brush of his knee against her thigh and the almost unnaturally bright blue of his eyes locked onto her much duller, green ones.

"Yeah, and Sierra's never noticed Ron's obsession with her. She thinks he's as interested in Nuka-Cola as she is." Sharing another laugh, they leaned back in their chairs and Alice slowly looked over the room and at the residents of Rivet City. She could see Flak sitting at the bar, facing them and eying Harkness carefully and raising his glass in a mini salute when their gazes met. "Harkness?" She asked abruptly, her eyes rolling back over to the man next to her.

"Call me Hark, if you want," he supplied with a smile and took a sip of his whiskey.

"Okay, Hark," Alice tested his nickname out, trying to decide if she liked the feel of it on her tongue. "I have a question for you, but it might make you angry."

"Are you about to ask me why I don't just get up and travel for myself?" At her baffled expression, he couldn't help but laugh. "Most people usually ask that shit at some point, so I've gotten good at guessing when."

"I'm sorry," Alice told him and looked down at the worn table under her hands. "That's rude of me to ask. I know you have an important job here."

"Since my divorce, I came here and threw myself into whatever work I could get. And then threw myself into focusing solely on the needs of the city. It's been helpful to hear about you and the shit you're doing from Three Dog, but the stories are much better from the source." All Alice could do was blink. While she had known that Three Dog was talking about her to everyone in the Capital Wasteland, but she had no idea that someone like Harkness would take time out of his day to listen to the random reports of her deeds. But then again, he was in charge of the security of the largest, safest settlement in the area. It made sense for him to want to be on top of things and aware of any potential threat around them.

“I haven’t really done much, but I’m glad you like hearing about it, I guess,” she shrugged, avoiding the odd look in Harkness’ eyes. He grunted, a strange absent sound before shifting in his seat, his knee sliding up her soft thigh as he turned to face her more.

“You’re being called a hero and you think you haven’t done a lot? I’d be impressed if that wasn’t… Sad, I guess. I know you’re set on trying to find your old man, but that doesn’t mean you haven’t been doing shit. Look at Bryan Wilks. He’d be dead if not for you and that’s just one example.” Harkness shook his head with a sigh and finished off his warm glass of whiskey before pouring himself more. “Enough of that. Will you tell me about the Republic of Dave?”

With that, Alice relaxed in her chair and took another long drink from the whiskey Harkness had bought them, eager to spend the rest of the evening with someone else instead of locked away in a dark room by herself for a change.


	2. Chapter 2

Her legs ached as Alice pulled herself up the steps leading to Rivet City, the sun beating harshly down on her and everything else in the Capital Wasteland. A thick stench of sweat so bad that she was sure even the flies were gagging on it clung to her just as the torn fabric of her vault suit stuck to her damply. Sending a quick prayer to her mother’s god, she eyed the guards standing near the entrance and hoped beyond hope that Harkness wasn’t either of them. Alice really wasn’t too keen on the idea of him seeing her like this, sweaty and covered in everything from mud to blood to mirelurk viscera.

But luck really wasn’t on her side that day, if all of the mirelurks she’d had to battle through hadn’t been enough of an indication for her. Right as she was midway across the massive, metal plank leading to the city, Harkness himself stepped out of the ship, a smile large enough that she even she could see clearly. Damn, was he really that excited to hear about the Republic of Dave?

When he started walking out towards her to meet her halfway, Alice toyed with the idea of just turning around and running away so she could at least roll around in the irradiated water for a minute. But the look of concern pulling his features stopped her in her tracks and she couldn't help but glance down at herself. Oh. He probably thought it was all her blood.

"Alice? How bad are you hurt? Do you need help getting to Doctor Li?" He asked as soon as he was close enough, his bright eyes quickly running over her body before locking on the way her breasts strained against the torn fabric of her suit. There was no saving it this time. Alice would have to bite the bullet and wear men's armor or else run the risk of being indecent. Harkness was probably worried about all the complaints he would have to deal with if any of the children in Rivet City saw her.

"I'm okay, just pretty sore." She wanted to tell him that she needed a higher dose of stimpaks to balance out her weight, but she kept her mouth shut. Instead, she shifted in place and winced at the uncomfortable friction between her thighs and groaned.

Of course chub rub would destroy her clothes before raiders did. 

Harkness nodded stiffly and moved himself so he was no longer blocking her way into the city and waited for her to start walking again. "Did you want to grab something to eat? You look like you're either gonna pass out from exhaustion or hunger."

"Er, maybe later," she flushed and kept her eyes straight ahead. "I'd really like to get cleaned up and new clothes before anything else. I feel like my top is about to spill open." Next to her, Harkness' breathing changed sharply and she couldn't help but glance over to see what was wrong.

"I think I might have an extra shirt I could bring you while you bathe," he offered, his faced tinged a faint pink. She'd never thought that grown men could blush before.

“If it’s not too much of a hassle, sure,” Alice agreed as they walked side by side, cautiously avoiding making eye contact with the other guards when they passed by them. Harkness walked with her all the way to the hotel, making small talk and lending her an arm when she stumbled on steps.

Harkness left her at the lobby of the Weatherly hotel, Alice wincing as she handed over 120 caps to the older woman and requested a bucket of water be brought to her room. Although she would prefer to hoard her caps and save up for things she needed, like weapons, ammo, and armor that actually worked for her, Alice knew that she needed to splurge a little and at least rent some space to sleep and bathe in. She’d only wind up dead if she kept running herself ragged day in and day out.

With a knock to the door, Vera announced herself before barging in, carrying a large bucket of water and with spare, vaguely clean clothes for her to use. Doing her best to hold back a grimace, Alice thanked the woman while smiling through the wave of homesickness that came over her. Back in the Vault, things had been clean. Old, but clean and in working order. Everything from showers to laundry services to lights in staircases worked and… And it was no use thinking about now. She could never go back and it was unlikely that she’d ever find a decent, working shower again.

With a firm shake of her head, Alice began digging through her pack to find her straight razor, carefully making note of the supplies she needed to try and restock while she was in the city. If she wanted to try and get everything she needed, she would really need to make her money count and get over her squeamishness over looting bodies of raiders or whatever else tried to attack her out in the wastes.

She took her time washing herself, carefully trying to untangle lumps of creatures she didn’t have names for from her hair and did her best to not make too much of a mess of the room around her. Looking at strands of her once shiny and well groomed hair, Alice tried to picture herself with some of the shorter, bizarre haircuts she’d seen around the wastes and sighed, knowing she’d be better off paying someone to give her a haircut than trying to do it herself. Yet another expense she didn’t really want to think about at the moment, but it just wasn’t realistic to try to keep up with long hair anymore. “Not like I’ve ever been cute anyways,” she muttered to herself before giving up and tying back her still damp hair. 

There was a firm knock at the door and Alice couldn’t help but jump in surprise, having completely forgotten that Harkness had promised to bring her some of his extra clothes. But it wasn’t the taller man she’d been expecting when she opened the door. Instead, it was the other security officer standing there with a pinched look on her face and a bundle clasped in her white-knuckled hands. Struggling to remember the harsh looking woman’s name, Alice gave a hesitant smile and tried to be discreet as she glanced around the other woman. 

“Thanks, uh,” Alice paused, trying frantically now to remember the woman’s name. “Laura. I was expecting someone else.”

“It’s Lana. But also Officer Danvers to you, Vaultie. Harkness had to go to an emergency council meeting and asked me to get these to you.” As the older woman spoke, she eyed the remnants of Alice’s clothes with a critical eye. “Change before I charge you with indecency and learn to take better care of your things.”

Completely mortified and face burning with shame, Alice could only weakly nod with a whispered apology before slipping back into her room. She honestly hadn’t meant to cause any troubles and now here she was, trying not to cry like a child and cursing her own body. If she was slimmer, she would never have had this problem of not being able to find clothes that fit her and that she could afford. But here she was, chubby and being threatened with fines or whatever it was that they did to people for breaking minor laws here. She’d have to do her best to avoid Rivet City for a while.

Looking through the small bundle of clothing that Harkness had gifted to her, Alice forced herself to smile and try to make the best of the handouts she’d been given. There was a soft, well used but clean undershirt that smelled of whatever soap Harkness had used to clean it and very faintly of what she guess was Harkness himself. The actual over shirt portion of it was well made with a much thicker, protective fabric than the cotton blend of the her vault suit and although it fit over her chest nicely, it would hang like a tent over the rest of her. 

But it would have to do. 

She washed her vault suit in the mucky water and left it hanging to dry on the back of the chair before Alice allowed herself to collapse on the bed, using Harkness’ undershirt as a sleeping gown.

Alice wasn’t sure how long she’d been asleep for- there were no portholes on any of the walls and she hadn’t seen a working clock since leaving the Vault, but a loud knock on the door tore her from sleep. Disoriented, she looked owlishly around the room, trying to figure out if it was someone at the door or just the person in the room next door having loud sex when the knock came again. So, it was the door after all. Looking down at herself, she winced and realized that she would have to wrap the old, musty blanket from the bed around herself if she wanted to be decent while answering the door. There was just no way she was getting her thick thighs in the tight, damp fabric of the vault suit in a timely manner.

Half afraid that it was Officer Danvers again, Alice cracked the door open and peaked out, only to be met with the smiling face of Harkness, raising an eyebrow at her rat’s nest of hair and amusement over her attire. Knowing her luck, she probably had dried drool all over her face. “I see the shirt fits,” he said in way of greeting, shifting and crossing his arms over his armored chest. “I’m glad. Is the overshirt okay? Should I try to find a different size for you?”

“No, it’s fine,” Alice gushed, feeling a blush erupt on her face as she arranged the sheet around herself, not too keen on showing off the cellulite she knew dotted her thighs. She was just thankful that she’d managed to shave without cutting her legs to hell and back, although she knew that was something that wasn’t commonly done in the wastes. It was a habit from the Vault and she had no intention of breaking it, if she could help it. “I really appreciate your help with everything, Hark.”

“It’s not a problem,” he smiled, his eyes jerking back to her face from where they’d been tracing the plump outline her body made through the sheet. “I’m off shift now, if you wanna get something from The Muddy Rudder and catch up.”

“I’d… I’d better not,” she told him, looking nervously at her bare feet. “I don’t want to get into any trouble for indecency or anything like that. I need to get some new pants and if you’re off shift, there’s no way that Flak n’ Shrapnel’s is still open.”

“Indecency?” The older man squawked, the noise surprising Alice enough to look up at him again. He looked like he would gladly punch a hole through a wall if they weren’t made of steel. “Who the fuck told you… You know, never mind. It was probably Lana.” She wanted to say something in the other woman’s defense, to tell him that it wasn’t Officer Danvers’ fault, but she bit her lip, letting Harkness hiss in frustration in front of her. “Look, I’m the Chief of Security. No one, and I mean no one, is gonna tell you shit like that. Not while I’m with you, you hear? You’re not even indecent. Now come on, let me buy you dinner.”

“I mean, if you’re sure,” Alice hesitantly agreed before disappearing back into her room at the man’s nod. With a grunt and a grimace, Alice wiggled herself back into the clingy fabric of the vault suit, thankful that she could just tie the upper half around her waist and happy with the way Harkness’ over shirt hung down over her hips, hiding what Christine Kendall had teasingly called her muffin tops. Feeling a little daring for once, Alice left the top half of the shirt open midway up her chest, confident that her new undershirt would keep anything from being remotely indecent, even if the collar was stretched and worn.

With a nod of forced confidence and one last glance down at herself, Alice slipped a small gun she barely knew how to use in her boot before opening the door and joining Harkness. She told herself that she wasn’t gonna let another grown woman bully her and prevent her from having a nice time with a friend. She sure as shit wasn’t a little kid anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided to just go ahead and put up the second chapter, since it's short and eh. Edited here and there from the original post on the KM.


	3. Chapter 3

“You never did tell me how the Republic of Dave was,” Harkness pointed out when he saw her step out of her room, eyeing the way that her pants clung to the curve of her thighs. “Here I’ve been, dying to know, and you haven’t even brought it up once.”

“I didn’t think you were that interested in it after all,” Alice blinked playfully up at him. And Hark felt his stomach clench. That look was going to be the death of him, he just knew it. He lead her to the dive bar, taking careful note of her hesitations whenever they got to cross sections of the ship and how she carefully looked around, trying to memorize the maze of passageways.

“If you want, I could always draw you a map of the city,” he joked, arching an eyebrow at her frustrated expression.

“No, it’s okay. My Pip-Boy has a map feature on it, but it’s a pain. You’d think I’d be used to navigating small spaces, but nope. This place, other vaults, and the metro system are hell.”

“So what you’re saying is you have no sense of direction?” He asked, opening the door to The Muddy Rudder and letting her enter before him. Alice just snorted in response and found them an empty table to sit at as he got a bottle of whiskey from Belle and got them some food. Keeping an eye on Sister, Harkness made his way over to the table that she picked out and couldn’t help but smile at the look Alice gave the roasted iguana. “Hungry?”

“I haven’t eaten in forever,” she whined, eagerly biting into the meal after a quick thanks. “Alright, so, the Republic of Dave.”

“I’m all ears,” Harkness grinned, chewing a mouthful of his own.

“Well, for starters, it’s no longer the Republic of Dave. It’s the Democracy of Rosie now and it seems to be on a good path. Dave used to run it and it was filled with his wives and kids. Super weird, but shockingly not that uncommon out in the wastes, I’ve discovered.”

“Why do I get the feeling that you were directly involved in overthrowing the government of a settlement, Alice?” He asked, forcing his voice to harden despite his growing amusement. At her sheepish look, he sighed and shook his head. “Just… Just don’t do the same to Rivet City. I don’t want to lose my job.”

Like the last time he’d treated her to dinner, the conversation flowed easily between them, as did the alcohol and before either of them knew it, her Pip-Boy chirped with the hour. He really needed to get to bed if he wanted to get any sleep before his shift the next day. In the stairwell, he grabbed her wrist, knowing that he was surprising her, but also knowing that now was his best chance. The hotel was always too crowded and there really was no other place for privacy on the ship. "I've been wanting to do this for a while," he told her, barely even noticing how raspy his voice had gotten before pulling her back towards him and wrapping his free hand around the back of her neck.

Giving her a second to protest, Harkness kissed her, trying his hardest to not be too aggressive. His little vault girl was skittish and he didn't want to scare her into never returning to Rivet City. When she hesitantly responded, Harkness let go of her wrist and rested his hand on that delicious curve between her hips and her ribs.

Alice gasped and grasped his shoulders, her strong, little hands digging into the padding from his armor. He all but growled, wishing that he had taken the armor off before taking Alice out to dinner. If he'd thought ahead, he could have been feeling her soft body pressed against his hard one.

He was pretty sure that she felt his growing erection pressed against her thighs, given the way that Alice whimpered against him. All Harkness wanted to do was press her against the wall and fuck both of their brains out, but he knew he really needed to stop now. There was no way he was gonna force himself on the young girl. With one last squeeze to her and with a soft bite to her swollen lips, he pulled back slightly and felt his pride- and dick- swell at the dazed look in her face. Fuck, those lips were as soft and plump as the rest of her.

"Hark?" She asked and he groaned, feeling his cock throb from where it was still pressed against her. "Are you okay?"

Was he okay? Shit, all he could think about was fucking her from behind in front of a mirror so he could feel her plump ass against his hips and still see her body jiggle and rock with his thrusts. If she only knew how badly he wanted to grab the back of her head and fuck her mouth, she'd never speak to him again. But he couldn't tell her any of that. "Me? I'm fine. Are you okay?"

"I'm okay, just... Just confused. Why did you do that?" She asked, focus finally coming back to her features. For a second, Hark thought that she was mad at him, but from the look on her face, she honestly couldn’t figure out why he would want to kiss her of all people. She honestly didn’t know that she was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen in his 35 years.

“You serious right now?” He asked, feeling anger creep into his stomach. Not at her, but at the idea of the stuck up jackasses in the Vault she’d grown up with. Flak and Shrapnel had told him all about it when he’d gone over to talk about them finding her armor at Bannon’s request. It’d made him want to punch the stuck up clothes salesman when he’d heard second hand what he’d said to Alice, but he kept his anger in check. “I can’t even tell you how hot I think you are.”

“I… I need to go,” Alice told him, her face stained red and her eyes darting around him. “Thank you for dinner, but I really gotta head out as early as I can tomorrow. My dad…”

“You have to find him,” he nodded, feeling himself frown. But he wasn’t gonna pressure her and took a step back, moving so that he was further down the steps from her and gave her more space. “Do you want me to walk you back to the hotel?”

“I think I can handle it, but thanks. I uh… I’m sorry.” With that she was gone, scurrying up the stairs and out of sight. Shit. He’d fucked up big time. And on top of all that, he still had a pressing matter that needed attending.

Harkness all but shoved the door to the flight deck open, frustrated with himself and desperately hoping that he would be alone up there. After glancing around he made his way to where he knew it was unlikely he’d be seen and braced himself against the rusted, steel wall with one hand while undoing the straining zipper with the other, groaning when the pressure on his cock was eased. Slipping his hand down his underwear and jerking the fabric down, he bit his lip and ran his thumb over the leaking head of his penis, imagining that it was her tongue. Alice didn't do things by halves, he knew, so in his mind's eye, he could just see her holding her tits up and letting him fuck them as she sucked and licked his cock when it came up and bumped her chin.

Running his hand down to the base of his cock and squeezing, the image in his brain changed to him on his back as she rode him, tits bouncing up and lightly smacking her in the face and her belly jiggling as he thrust up into her. She wouldn't even have to move those hips of hers, he'd fuck her so hard.

His hand was going faster now and he barely even registered it, too caught up in the changing images in his brain, Alice starring in all of them. Of her coming home and telling him that she hadn't been able to get herself off in the wastes because she craved his cock so badly and nothing seemed to match up, of them letting someone else watch as they fucked like animals on the bed of her hotel room, of her belly rounded even more and her breasts straining against a shirt she stole from him as she licked her fingers clean from the snack cake he’d been giving her, lips coated in the sugary sweetness of frosting.

He came at that last image, the orgasm that had been building deep in his gut shooting out as he moaned, bucking his hips wildly. Leaning against the wall and pressing his overheated cheek against the rusted wall, Harkness shivered, wondering where that last image had even come from. He'd never had any fantasy like it before and he felt a wave of guilt wash over himself for a second. He didn't know if he could look Alice in the eye after that. The rest was no problem, he'd beat it to her since he first saw her and probably would until the day he died. But he knew the young girl hated her own body and would trade figures with someone else in a heartbeat.

Shaking himself out of it, Harkness stood up straight and adjusted his clothes before going back inside, giving no thought to the puddle of ejaculate he'd left on the floor of the deck. He sure as shit wasn't the first person to spill a load or twelve up there over the years and he wasn't gonna be the last.


	4. Chapter 4

Alice felt an overwhelming sense of panic well up in her chest as she looked around and realized something huge. All the humans were gone. She needed to find Roy and find out what happened, but at the back of her mind, Alice knew damn well what had happened. After all the hard work she’d poured into convincing the residents of Tenpenny Tower to open up their doors and let the ghouls in, she knew what had happened.

Half terrified that she would turn a corner and be mauled by a feral ghoul, Alice slowly made her way up to the top of the tower, noting everything that had changed and what had stayed the same throughout the coup d'etat that she’d unknowingly helped orchestrate. All she could think of was how she wanted to turn tail and run- back to Vault 101, back to her father, and… And back to Rivet City where Harkness was.

Harkness. Oh god, what would Harkness say if he knew about what she’d done? Should she do her best to never tell him her involvement? Even though she knew that she didn’t owe him anything, a hollowed feeling crept up when she thought of indirectly lying to the man she’d come to rely on as a friend and who’d she had been doing her best to not think about for the last two weeks. He probably hated her for the way she’d run out on him.

But she couldn’t afford to let herself be distracted with those thoughts, not while she was over her head in what could very possibly turn into hostile territory very quickly. And unless he’d gotten a haircut in the time she’d seen him last, Roy was standing right in front of her, his back to her as he spoke to Bessie Lynn, who appeared to have taken over the New Urban Appeal store. “Roy,” Alice spoke, a twinge of pride creeping up her spine at how clear and commanding her voice was.

The ghoul in question turned around almost lazily, knowing full well who was behind him and although Alice was no expert on figuring out ghoul expressions, he just seemed to have boastfulness painted across his necrotic features. She would have given anything in that second to punch the look clear off his face, but she was pretty sure that half of his face would come off with the blow and she knew she needed to keep a level head.

“Why if it isn’t Little Miss Vault 101,” he greeted in turn, a smug smile seeming to rip across his mouth. “Thank you for helping us, this place is the perfect safe haven.”

“About that. I notice a distinct lack of non-ghoul tenants and I don’t remember leaving the tower that way. They leave on their own?”

“Let's just say those two-faced smoothskins didn't like the new management. So they all got themselves "evicted." Can't say it's a shame.” Alice nodded slowly, taking in his words and wishing she had brought more firepower or at least another set of eyes to watch her back. But she didn’t, so there was very little she could actually do.

“I see,” she said carefully even though she didn’t even come close to seeing how he could cold bloodily murder a tower full of people who were okay with living side by side… For the most part. “Am I free to restock my supplies before going on my way?”

“Yeah, best get on your way,” Roy told her with a shrug and with that, he turned his back on her in dismissal and if Alice were a different person, she would have killed him right then and there. But she wasn’t. So she hurried on her way, vanishing to pick over what was left of Gustavo’s armory. All she wanted to do was leave and never look back, but she’d learned the hard way that she needed to be prepared whenever she stepped foot out in the wasteland.

But where was she going to go next? Her heart clenched, knowing that she should probably make her way to Rivet City, but the acidic, sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach kept telling her to just avoid the situation for as long as she possibly could. She was out of leads on where to find her father and dropping in on random settlements that she came across was starting to get tiresome. She’d just visited a little village that had been populated by incestuous cannibals, which was still something that was shockingly not uncommon, Alice had come to find out.

Thinking of going to Megaton and seeing everyone there made her feel a little bit happier, but Alice wasn’t sure if she could look Gob in the eye given how angry she was with herself and with Roy, even though she knew it wouldn’t even be fair to the poor man. He’d had nothing to do with the poor decisions of others and he was already Moriarty’s punching bag. She’d have to get around to doing something about that, but she hadn’t been able to figure out a way to get rid of him without Lucas Simms wanting her hide. Besides all that, is she was being completely honest with herself, she just missed Harkness.

Even if she wasn’t convinced he wasn’t just trying to fool her and take advantage of her naivety, she missed spending time with him and seeing him. Looking at some armor laying in a locker, Alice found herself absentmindedly rubbing a torn bit of Harkness’ shirt between her fingers with a frown. Although it was better than her vault suit, it still wasn’t too great when up against the teeth of a mole rat, as she unluckily found out soon after she’d left Rivet City. On a whim, she grabbed the armor, eyeing the size of it and tried it on.

It wasn’t a perfect fit and it was tight across her breasts, but it wasn’t the worst thing she’d put on in her life. Sure, if she breathed in too heavily, her stomach pressed uncomfortably against the unyielding metal plates, but if it meant she was safer in general, than it was worth the discomfort until she could find something better. Besides, it was free. It was perfect.

Having decided her destination and with a new set of armor, Alice felt good about herself, even though she knew she’d made some massive mistakes in her past. Hell, she was standing in the middle of one of her larger ones, if the vaguely fresh looking bloodstains on the carpet were anything to go by. It’d give her a day or two to think of what she could possibly say to Harkness, and enough time to change her mind if she wanted to, but Alice was going to go back to Rivet City.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really meant to either post more of this sooner or at least write another part to it, but then Fallout 4 came out and yeah. I've been working on a Maxson/OC fic but idk if I'll ever post it. I'd write more about that, but you can just ask me on tumblr or something if you're curious.


	5. Chapter 5

Hips jerking up and a stifled groan ripping from his throat, Harkness panted, running his fingers through her hair as her perfect little tongue snaked out to flick the slit of his penis. Hollowing her cheeks, Alice bobbed her head up and down on his cock faster, impressing him with her skill as her hand squeezed his balls. Feeling a tightening in the pit of his stomach, Harkness forced her head down, grunting over how her strained lips felt around the base of his cock. She moaned a protest, the vibrations running through his dick as her hand shot up and pinched at his wrist.

He eased up on the pressure he had on her as Harkness started bucking his hips wildly. While still keeping her head in place, he started to come, the spurts of his cum shooting out so hard that Alice couldn't even swallow all of it, letting globs of it drool down his dick. He groaned, digging his fingers into her hair again as he thought of filling her belly up with his spunk.

"Shit, Hark," Belle spat as she pulled herself away from his grip and ruined his fantasy. "I should charge you extra just for the hair you ripped out. You know I don't swallow."

"Damn it, Belle," he sighed, rubbing a hand down his face in frustration. "I told you not to talk until we were done." Now his fantasy had been ruined by the bartender, the light feeling that he'd been getting while jerking it to thoughts of Alice crushed by the reality of Belle.

"Yeah, well, I'd say you should go to her next time, but I'm sure you'll run her off. Again." He made a noncommittal noise a as he gave his still throbbing dick a few squeezes, milking the last spurt of his jizz out. "Used to be that you'd at least eat me out afterwards, but I guess that's off the plate now."

"You'd be guessing right," Harkness sighed, cleaning himself off with the rag Belle offered him before slipping his sore cock back into his pants. Standing up, he finally looked at Belle and gave her a little half smile. "Used to be that I'd fuck you all night, too."

"I miss those days. Shame you couldn't do your job and knock me up like I'd asked," she baited him, knowing full well how he would respond. And she was right. 

Half perching herself on the edge of an old desk, Belle spread her lean thighs as she watched his nostrils flare and him stalk slowly to her. Jerking Her long skirt enough to reach under it, Belle gasped when he sunk two thick fingers into her dripping quim. Rolling a calloused thumb harshly against her clit, Hark nibbled on her earlobe gently and gripped her flat ass with his other hand. 

"Hey, I know I have swimmers, it's you that's more barren than that damn wasteland. You’re too old, Belle. That ship’s sailed for you." He grunted into her ear as he added a third finger. Unlike with how cautious he'd be with Alice, Harkness knew for a fact that Belle not only could take it, but she liked it. He'd fit his entire fist in there and she'd still sobbed for more before.

No, he'd have to work her plump little cunt up to it if he ever wanted to do that to her. The thought of it had his tired cock twitching and he grunted as Belle came, her body rocking against his. Keeping his hand still to let her come down from her high, Harkness gently kissed the older woman's jaw and pressed his forehead against her temple.

"Thanks, Hark, but I'm still charging you extra for damn near choking me."

"That's fair," he nodded and they exchanged caps quickly, having done this a hundred times before over the years. “Hey, you still looking after that Trinnie girl? She’s been stealing again and it’s forcing me into a corner, you know.”

“She’s back at that? Me and Brock are trying to keep an eye on her, but she’s just so hard to manage. You know she’s from Little Lamplight, right?” Harkness just grunted, his mind going back to the time that Alice told him all about the place run entirely by children. To the point where you were exiled when you got too old.

“Wasteland’s a harsh place. Abandonment’s not an excuse for anyone anymore.” Belle nodded in agreement as she fixed herself up in a murky reflection, shooting Harkness a sour look that he just shrugged at as she ran her fingers through her tangled hair. Leaving the room a minute before Belle, Harkness tried to avoid eye contact with Brock as he made his way out of the Muddy Rudder, thinking about all he had to get through that day.

In the time before his shift started, Harkness wandered the deck levels, keeping an ear out for any verbal disputes as people woke up for the day or stumbled back into whatever holes they crawled into after a night long bender. The marketplace was just waking up as he stepped through the hatch, his blue eyes roaming over the beginnings of crowds as everyone set up their shops for the day. Gary’s Galley was crowded as everyone grabbed a bite to eat, Flak and Shrapnel eating whatever bowl of noodles they each felt like buying as they laughed with… Alice.

Alice was back.

His heart hammered in his chest as he watched the young woman laugh with the older men, playfully grinning at their jokes and swinging a… Holy fuck, was that a fucking mini-nuke strapped to her back? Resisting the urge to rub his eyes, Harkness blinked and sure enough, the little plump girl of his fantasies was effortlessly carrying a mini-nuke, as well as her usual pack and supplies. He’d had no idea she’d had that kind of muscle mass beneath the curves of her body. He had the distinct feeling that he might just be able to fall in love with the girl as he watched her accept a bowl of food from the older couple and feeling his eyes burning a hole in the side of her head, Alice looked up and locked eyes with him.

Heart truly pounding in his chest at this point, Harkness debated on if he should continue standing there like a dumb ass, go down and speak with her, or turn tail and run. Seeing as how he’d never in his life run from an uncomfortable situation before, he put a dose of steel in his spine and walked towards the steps, intent on speaking to her and hoping faintly that she hadn’t told either of the rough looking men that he’d all but assaulted her mouth and caused her to flee for several weeks.

The fact that she was smiling and walking towards him, her bowl having been abandoned in the safekeeping of her friends, was a good sign, but when she threw her arms around his neck and gave him a bear hug, that was an even better sign. Knowing that all sets of eyes were locked on them, Harkness resisted the urge to kiss her, so he settled for just squeezing her back, wincing a little as their sets of armor dug into each other.

“Hark, I’m sorry for running away,” Alice muttered into his shoulder, keeping her voice down so they wouldn’t be overheard. “Can we talk after you get off your shift tonight? We could meet here.”

“I’d like that,” he nodded, pulling away from her awkwardly. Glancing over at the crowd of people, he saw that most of them had looked away again, but Flak and Shrapnel were both glaring daggers at him. Oh. So they did know. He’d been doing his best to avoid the other men during the time Alice had been gone, but they’d been civil the few times they had no other choice but to talk.

He watched for a second as Alice turned and returned to them, the two men immediately speaking to her in hushed voices as he turned and walked away, intent on putting their planned talk as far out of his mind as he could and focus entirely on maintaining the peace.

Easier said than done, probably.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my abandoned child. Daddy's home, but I have a new baby, so I'm probably gonna go back to ignoring you.


	6. Chapter 6

"You sure about all this, Alice?" Shrapnel grunted out when they were in the relative privacy of their store. There weren't enough people wandering around yet to really overhear their discussion and Alice felt herself shifting her weight out of nervous habit. She felt like she was a teenager again and her father was asking where she'd gotten a black eye from instead of the young woman discussing something with her friends that she was.

"Well, no, but that's life, right? You make rash decisions and hope for the best?" The two men exchanged tense looks with each other and Alice felt herself becoming frustrated. "Okay, other than him being older than me, which sure, I'll give you guys that, do you have legitimate concerns about it?"

"If things go sour between you two, his position as security chief is something to consider," Flak reasoned and Alice couldn't help but nod along. His position had been a slight part of her hesitation to return after he'd kissed her in the stairwell.

"I know, and I see what you're saying, but I don't honestly think he'd abuse his power like that," Alice paused, giving it some thought and carefully watched their expressions, looking for any sign that they were keeping something from her. "Unless you guys know something that I don't."

"No, not a thing. Least not in the time we've been here. He came a little bit before we ended up here."

"Okay. Then I'm going to have to learn how to ride this bike on my own," she sighed, feeling not for the first time like she was older than her nineteen years.

"Ride this what now?" Flak scoffed, looking at her like she was growing a second head. “Forget it, it don’t matter. But tell me, not that it’s any of my business or anything, how’s all this gonna happen with your father?” 

“What do you mean?” She asked, immediately on the defensive. Did they think that just because she was interested in some man that she’d give up on the only family she had left in the entire wasteland?

“Well,” Shrapnel started, scratching the back of his head as he glanced around to stall for time. “We know you ain’t dumb, but sometimes people do stupid shit because they think they’re in love with someone. Shit, sometimes people think that they’re so in love, they convince the other to leave their entire lives behind, just to start a new one with that person.”

“Yeah, because being a raider is such a great lifestyle,” Flak snarled, glaring at his partner without any real venom. Alice couldn’t help but giggle, well aware of the things that both men had done in their lifetimes.

“And look at how great it turned out for both of you. Hey, maybe after I find my dad and things go back to the way they should be, he and I could settle in Rivet City. Doctor Li mentioned having researched with him in the past and it might be good for him to return to all that.”

“Alright, well, whatever helps you sleep through the night and keep on fighting,” Flak coughed awkwardly, sending his lover an odd look. The other man just shrugged and stepped away from the counter, a clear signal that he was done taking part in the conversation. “On to more important things, I see you got yourself a new set of armor. How’s the fit?”

Alice ended up spending the majority of her day hanging around Flak and Shrapnel’s store, pestering them with questions of their pasts, interesting stories, or just anything that came to her mind. They eventually got tired of her questions and halfheartedly ran her off to haunt Gary’s Galley instead, so she spent the remainder of her free time chatting with Angela. She’d liked the younger girl and had loved hearing about her crush on Diego, but couldn’t hold the frown off of her face when she heard exactly how young the girl was.

Knowing that very few people held the same standard as everyone in Vault 101 and that the wasteland was largely a lawless place where people died young constantly, Alice still just couldn’t shake the feeling of wrongness when she thought of someone Angela’s age married and possibly a mother.

“Look, I know what you’re thinking,” Angela spoke up, seeing the look on Alice’s face. “But we’re in love. He’s making a mistake by joining the church.”

“Angela, you’re sixteen,” Alice started to reason, hesitant because she knew full well that she was the pot calling the kettle black. She was only a few years older than Angela was and she knew full well that the younger girl had seen her hug Harkness that morning. She cringed, thinking of all the rumors that had to have been spread by now.

“And Harkness is what? Thirty-five? Diego’s only two years older than me and that’s hell of a lot better than being something like fourteen years older than you.” Part of Alice wanted to correct her and point out that it was sixteen years, not fourteen, but she knew better. This wasn’t a good argument to be in.

“We’re both adults at least.” With that she stood, throwing some caps on the counter as she walked away, intent on walking off her frustration with the younger woman. Besides, she hadn’t even rented her usual room from Vera yet and should probably do that before it got too late and she ended up having to sleep on some moldy couch somewhere.

“Alice?” Hark’s voice rang out, surprising her from her thoughts. She stopped and turned, feeling guilty at the look of confusion on the older man’s face. She must have lost track of time while talking to Alice and he might think she was leaving before they got the chance to talk.

“Oh, Hark! I forgot to get a room from the Weatherly Hotel. Wanna walk with me?” Alice asked, rubbing a hand on the back of her grimy neck. His eyebrows rose sharply and he nodded, electric blue eyes locked on her face as he stalked towards her with a slow smile spreading across his features.

“Sure. That’d give us privacy to talk,” he nodded, gently placing his hand on her elbow and guiding her when she started to take a wrong turn. Alice could have cried with relief when she saw that Vera was nowhere to be seen and that she could just rent her usual room from Mister Buckingham. She really hadn’t been looking forward to the other woman’s silent judgement as she lead Harkness into the room to talk. 

Alice barely had time to turn around when she stepped in the hotel room, Harkness' hands were already on her with his lips not far behind. Gasping and dropping her pack and mini-nuke roughly to the ground, Alice latched onto his shoulders as his mouth all but attacked her neck, her face heating up in embarrassment over her lack of experience. She knew she was younger than he was by a good sixteen years, but he was the first one to ever kiss her like that. Her mind drifted to memories of hearing all that Susie Mack got up to in the vault and how jealous she had been before Harkness' hands on her pulled her sharply out of her thoughts.

"Hark," she squeaked out, pulling away from him so she could look him in the eye. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I mean, I know the basic information, but nothing more."

"There was no cute boy, eager to get his hands on you back in that vault?" Harkness asked, his large hands gripping handfuls of her to illustrate his point.

"No," she admitted with a gasp, arching into the well muscled man's touch. "Even with a limited number of people, you don't usually go for the ugly one."

"I'm gonna start spanking you whenever you say shit like that, Alice," Hark all but growled at her, digging his fingers into the softness of her hips and dragging her closer to him. "I can't wait to see those tits bounce when I fuck you."

Alice nearly pulled back from him in shock, but his firm grip on her kept her in place and all she could do was whimper. Hearing him talk like that was like nothing she'd felt before, her body responding instantly and she felt herself tense up with need, despite the hesitation in the back of her mind. “I thought we were gonna talk?”

“If you want to, we can. Or we can talk after,” he groaned, pressing his nose and face against her temple and skewing her broken glasses a little. Alice felt guilty as she nodded, pulling away from him so that she could sit on the bed and face him. Patting the area next to her, she tried not to bite her lip, aware of how she probably must look to him.

“I’m sorry, I’d just like to get some things out of the way before we continue with well, that.” At the odd look on his face, Alice quickly raised her hands in what she hoped was an appeasing way and gave a slight grin. “And I do really want to continue with this, trust me. No running away this time, I promise.”

“What did you want to talk about, Alice?” He asked, staring her in the eye as he loosened and removed the heavy chest armor he always wore, carefully setting it on a spare chair in her room and gently pushing aside her heavy pack and weapon. Her tongue felt thick in her mouth as she tried to swallow, watching as his large hands moved to undo the buttons of his shirt, revealing more and more of taunt, off-white undershirt as he went. “Well?”

“You know something, Hark? It doesn’t seem as important anymore,” she rasped out, falling back on her elbows as she watched his smile.

“No, no, it was important to you before,” he teased, taking his time in pulling his undershirt from where it was tucked into his straining pants. “If it’s important to you, then it’s important to me, baby girl.” She heard his words, but nothing really registered in her mind, her eyes locked on the sinewy muscle of his abdomen. There was thick hair on his pectorals, thinning a little into almost a little trail down his abdominals, leading down below his pants. “Alice?”

“Hark, please, can we just talk in a bit?” She moaned, her fingers digging into the thick comforter on the bed. Alice rubbed her thick thighs together, trying to relieve from of the pressure building in the junction between her legs, but it was hopeless. “I need you.”

With that he was on her, his mouth attacking the sensitive skin of her neck and his hands undoing every article of clothing that he could. As soon as her chest was as bared as his was, his mouth moved down, licking and biting at her breasts like a feral dog. And Alice loved every second of it, her fingers lacing themselves into his hair and pulling, trying to get him to focus on both of her breasts at once. A small corner of her mind felt herself resenting the fact that she hadn’t done this with someone sooner, but at the same time, things just felt right with Harkness doing it.

He made his way down her stomach, making a point to kiss and caress her stomach, dipping his tongue into her bellybutton as he went. As his hands moved back up to tease her breasts, Alice made herself useful and undid the front of her pants, wiggling her hips to try to get the tight fabric down her meaty thighs and to reveal as much of herself to him as she could. Without warning, he broke away from her, holding himself over his body with his powerful arms so that no part of him was touching her.

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk?” He asked, his tone dead serious before a smile broke out over his face when she moaned in frustration and yanked his mouth to hers roughly. Their teeth knocked together in their harsh kiss, but after the moment of pain passed, Alice felt herself not caring, desperate to wrap her legs around him and to feel him inside of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to remember to update this with the rest of the chapters, but I've been distracted by the mass that is Equal Payment and another project I've been working on for New Vegas. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted for the Fallout Kink Meme, I decided to just post it here and for once own up to something I wrote. Might regret it, but yolo lol. Figured this might encourage me to keep working at it. I'll still be posting over at the KM, but I'll be updating this one at the same time, once it gets current. Gonna see how people like it before I post more of it.


End file.
